Quadruple split.

Chapter 2692 Reading the Score
"clue?"

Hess frowned slightly, looking at Richard, who was swaying and barely managing to stand up. Despite having just been beaten, his expression remained calm and composed. He pondered for a moment and said, "You mean, we should turn a blind eye to the divine power of justice in Eagle Claw Gorge? And then use the chaos that broke out there tonight as an excuse to send our troops over there?"

"You're half right, beautiful lady."

Richard smiled and said in a light tone, "Although we will definitely have to push our troops over there, there is no need to turn a blind eye to that divine power of justice. On the contrary, we are an investigation team that came from the City of Light specifically to search for the whereabouts of the two princes."

Hess's gaze sharpened slightly, then he nodded gently and said, "I understand what you mean, Mr. Richard."

Admittedly, Hess Dongya may not be as talented in military strategy as Richard Lane, who specializes in the field, but as the standard-bearer of the Sun Church's Knights of the Cult of the Sun, this cold and beautiful woman is certainly not the kind of pretty vase that is only good-looking.

This female knight, who was highly regarded by the Wintertooth family and joined the Order of the Guardians despite being a convict, was undoubtedly a "dragon among men," even if she didn't quite meet the standards of "literary and military prowess."

So after Richard pointed it out twice, Hess suddenly understood and grasped the thread that he hadn't been able to see clearly before!

"The aftershocks of the divine power tonight will surely alert not only us, but also the three Blood Barbarian factions of Headless Cliff, Bloodfeather Plateau, and Steelmane Tribe. And given the information they have, it shouldn't be difficult for them to reconstruct the events."

Hess gently stroked his smooth chin, his beautiful vertical pupils flashing with a sharp light: "If nothing unexpected happens, they will definitely be too afraid to directly attack, and at the same time, they will send people to investigate the situation as quickly as possible. Since we sensed that divine power of justice without our knowledge, we will naturally connect it with Prince Avery, so..."

Richard chuckled, then raised an eyebrow at Hess, who hadn't continued speaking but instead looked up at him, and said, "Therefore, as an investigative force dedicated to ensuring the safety of the two princes and determined to uncover the truth behind the burning of Dunbua, we will rush to their aid day and night, arriving at the vicinity of the incident as quickly as possible."

"Considering that the Blood Barbarians should have already sent people to investigate, if we set off immediately, the main force should arrive at Eagle Claw Gorge only a little later than the other side realizes what has happened."

Hess unconsciously started pacing in place, walking back and forth in front of Richard with her shapely long legs, and said in a faster-paced manner, "After realizing that our troops have set off, the Blood Barbarians will definitely be in a state of emergency and will send their immediate combat forces to Eagle Claw Gorge as soon as possible."

Richard nodded approvingly and added with a light laugh, "But considering that the two sides haven't completely broken ties yet, and the two Holy Princes are still 'uncertain of their fate,' the Blood Barbarians certainly wouldn't dare to rashly clash with us. And in order to maintain this 'tacit understanding' and 'harmony,' we naturally won't take advantage of the time difference to forcibly break through [Eagle Claw Gorge] and then advance into the Blood Barbarian heartland."

"Ok?"

Hess paused for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Won't we... use the time difference to break through Eagle Claw Gorge and enter the Blood Barbarian heartland?"

Richard nodded matter-of-factly and laughed, "Yes, of course we wouldn't do that."

Hess pursed his lips, pondered for a while, and finally gave up trying to figure it out himself, asking directly, "So, the reason?"

"The reason..."

Richard smiled and countered, "Ms. Hess, why don't you tell me your reasons for believing we should take this opportunity to break through Eagle Claw Gorge?"

Hess immediately cast a sharp look at Richard and said coldly, "Did I give you permission to ask me questions in return?"

"Of course I can explain my thinking directly."

Richard, however, met Hess's sharp and beautiful eyes without restraint and said calmly, "But personally, I think that Ms. Hess, you would prefer to receive suggestions on your thought process rather than just hearing the answer. So... do you want me to give you the result directly, or do you intend to understand my thoughts through a debate with me? And since it's a debate, I might be the one who gets persuaded. Perhaps your ideas are slightly better than mine."

Although Hess knew perfectly well that Richard's second half of his sentence was just polite or...joking, he still took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his displeasure, and said seriously, "My idea is very simple: to use the recent burst of divine power as an excuse to legitimately pass through Eagle Claw Gorge and reunite with our partners in Dunbua City. Now the timing is perfect, the location is ideal, and the Blood Barbarians are probably too busy scouting to send a large force. We also have a perfect reason to explain this 'night raid.' If we wait until they realize what's happening and concentrate a significant portion of their forces in Eagle Claw Gorge, it won't be easy for us to reunite with them."

Richard nodded, revealing a gentle and warm smile, but which Hess found extremely jarring: "I see, that makes perfect sense."

"You know what the consequences are of testing my patience."

Hess clenched his fist and bit his fangs lightly: "Now it's your turn to speak."

"Okay, so first of all, I want to say that if we consider things in the normal way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your idea."

Richard snapped his fingers, and then, as Hess expected, changed the subject: "However, Ms. Hess, although I am far inferior to monsters like Pastor Black Vane, Captain Foster, or Chief of Staff Ramorlock of the Dream Kingdom in this regard, I am equally clear that all tactical decisions should serve the overall strategy. To put it simply, we must focus on the big picture."

Hess didn't respond, but instead gestured for Richard to continue with an increasingly cold look in his eyes.

"So, under the current circumstances, what exactly is our strategy, or our general direction? Is it really to rendezvous with Pastor Blackfan, His Highness Avery, His Highness Philip, and the garrison in Dunbua City, whom everyone knows haven't actually disappeared but have lost contact with us for some reason?"

Richard chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Of course not. Our goal is to cooperate with the signals released by certain people, play our roles as well as possible, serve the person who is in control of the overall situation at this stage, implement his ideas, and carry out his intentions."

Hess nodded slightly, then frowned and said, "I think I know what you're going to say, but the problem is, we haven't received any signals, and as an otherworldly being, Pastor Black Vane should have unique methods to contact the outside world, yet he seems to have vanished without a trace. So what can we do?"

"I can try to analyze the second question you just mentioned based on my limited understanding: why Pastor Black Vane was able to contact the outside world but did not release any information."

Richard licked his lips and said softly, "My answer to this is—first of all, it's not that Pastor Black Vane hasn't released any information. At least I have enough reason to suspect that our Dawn Cult's temporary leader in this investigation team, Lady Clara Champs-Élysées, certainly knows some information that we don't."

Hess sneered and asked, "As a member of the Dawn Cult, is it really alright for you to put this kind of thing out in the open?"

"Of course, no problem. After all, I was the one kept in the dark too, and now compared to my identity as Richard Lane, the priest of the Dawn Cult..."

Richard took a half step back, gracefully bowed to Hess, and said softly, "I am also a humble advisor to you, Ms. Hess."

Hess stared expressionlessly at the lion in front of him, who seemed to be horny, and said calmly, "If you think you can get me this way, I can only advise you to cherish your life." "But since you can say something like 'I tried to seduce you,' it means that at least for a moment, you thought I was quite attractive as a member of the opposite sex."

Richard shrugged, then quickly changed the subject before Hess could punch him in the face, saying seriously, "Getting back to the point, I believe that Pastor Black Vane has indeed communicated with some of our superiors. Based on this premise, there are only three reasons why he has remained silent on the surface so far."

"explain."

Hess glared at Richard with hostility, his words brief and to the point.

"First, he needs to test us to ensure that the person in charge of this force is at least someone who can keep up with his pace and won't cause him any trouble; second, he needs to ensure that this force has enough loyalty to be freely deployed by the person who can keep up with his pace."

Richard took a deep breath, a faint unease flashing in his eyes: "Finally, based on the above two points, he himself may be unable to control the entire battle situation for some reason, so he cannot perform that kind of puppet-like command and dispatch, which is why he wants to resolve the 'worries' in the initial stage."

Hess pondered for a few seconds, then said in a deep voice, "That's unreasonable. If we follow your logic, assuming I didn't consult you tonight and instead assembled the troops directly to Eagle Claw Gorge based on my own understanding, then..."

“Then you will most likely be stripped of your command immediately, Ms. Hess. Even if our Sister Clara is not good at military strategy, she can still do things like ‘removing people who make some outrageous decisions’ from the command system.”

Richard interrupted Hess in a lighthearted tone, then added, "As for whether this will disrupt the overall plan 'over there,' well, that's not a concern either. You see, our Academy City's 'Witch' is currently in Gospel Mountain City. Even if everyone can't keep up with Pastor Black Vane's pace, with her around, no opportunity that shouldn't be missed will be missed."

Hess's eyes widened immediately, and he exclaimed in surprise, "But Theresa said..."

"Whatever she says, my advice is to 'just listen and not take it seriously'."

Richard interrupted Hess again, saying slowly, "The Wintertooth family's long-term presence in the east guarding against those seafood is undoubtedly admirable, but it also means that you have been out of the center of power for too long, Ms. Hess. And some things are hard to fully understand without long-term exposure."

"..."

Although he disliked the other party's lecturing attitude, which was like talking to a child, Hess did not react this time. Instead, he calmly looked at Richard and nodded, saying, "You're right."

"Of course, I'm not talking about you..."

Richard was about to explain when he was immediately stunned by what he heard, and asked in bewilderment, "Uh, what did you say?"

"I say, you're right."

Hess looked at Richard expressionlessly and said calmly, "And I'm glad you could point out what I'm missing. It's important to me, so I want to thank you."

Richard: "...Uh, well, you're welcome?"

"Go on."

Hess snorted and said stiffly, "We're short on time, aren't we?"

"In short, in my opinion, what will happen tonight is already predetermined; the only difference is..."

Richard stepped forward slowly, gently brushed a strand of hair from Hess's forehead, and said softly, "The person who ultimately makes the decision is either a 'megaphone' planted by someone long ago, or one... or two commanders who have the courage, ability, and can keep up with the pace."

Click, click——

With a cracking sound, Hess dislocated Richard's wrist, and then slapped him so hard that his shoulder was fractured. Even with divine healing, it was optimistically estimated that Richard would have a hard time raising his arm for the next two weeks.

“Very good, you explained it very clearly, I understand it completely now.”

Hess nodded happily, and then, after his approval, continued to ask, "So, let's talk about something more specific. As a commander who is courageous, capable, and able to keep up with someone's pace, what exactly is your 'strategy' and 'general direction', Reverend Richard?"

"It's a system of checks and balances."

Without any internal intelligence support, and at most only knowing from Foster that Pastor Black Vane needed an 'accomplice', Richard Lane's gaze narrowed slightly. At this moment, he even completely ignored the pain of his dislocated wrist and broken shoulder, and said in a deep voice: "He needs us to counterbalance the Blood Barbarians. He doesn't want the situation he has painstakingly built to end so hastily. The [Investigation Force] is a crucial piece, the most critical element in maintaining that thin veil. Our role is not just 'deterrence,' but more importantly, to tie the Blood Barbarians' hands and feet."

"so?"

"The point isn't what we can do, but what we can't do with those bloodthirsty barbarians?"

"for example?"

"Make every effort to wipe out a certain 'enemy' that is about to bare its fangs."

"So what we need to do now is—"

"Block [Eagle Claw Gorge]!"

Chapter 2683: The End